SAMSUNG SBS ( Side By Side ) the new star of the Exynos

Source: 2D art turned to 3D using gemini  

We are all aware of the usual year-over-year (YoY) performance increases on newer processors. Alongside that, we are often promised efficiency improvements; unfortunately, only one of these usually translates to real-life usage. The other often gets lost in the race for higher benchmark numbers.

For the past three years, ARM chipset makers have simply been using new cores and overclocking them to reach peak performance, without a single thought for thermals or stability. But one brand thought differently: "What if, instead of relying on overclocking for higher performance, we fix sustained stability?"  

In pursuit of that, HPB (Heat Path Block) was created.

HPB is a copper heat sink attached to the Exynos 2600 SoC and RAM in a sandwich-like design. This technology has significantly improved thermal efficiency by pulling heat away from the chips at an incredibly fast speed. This allows for much higher stability than the competition, as shown in the CPU stability graph below (where green represents better performance). 

Exynos 2600

8 elite gen 5 for galaxy

Source: Shaun,Arturo M.,Hugo Pereira etc

The HPB was a significant leap in SoC packaging technology, improving thermals by a generational gap in a single year. But it doesn't end there SAMSUNG LSI is gearing up for a new star in the show for the future Exynos : "SBS" (Side-By-Side) packaging. 

What is " SBS " ?

For years, smartphones have relied on a design called Package-on-Package (PoP), where the RAM sits physically on top of the processor. While functional, this setup is not ideal. The distance data must travel between the memory and the CPU introduces delays and inefficiencies, especially as workloads like AI and real-time processing become more demanding. Furthermore, because the RAM and SoC are sandwiched together in a stack, the added thickness traps heat inside. This results in increased thermal throttling and puts more stress on both the processor and the RAM.

To overcome this physical limitation, SAMSUNG appears to have designed a new packaging method called "SBS." Instead of stacking memory on top of the processor like a sandwich, they are experimenting with placing the RAM alongside the processor die directly or integrating it at the wafer level.

SBS Design 

Technologies like fan-out wafer-level packaging with a side-by-side layout make this possible. In simple terms, the processor and memory are brought much closer together, connected through shorter and faster pathways.

SBS and HPB layout concept 

This drastic change has a major impact on the SoC and RAM. By reducing the distance between the logic die and memory, SAMSUNG is aiming for a noticeable jump in memory bandwidth somewhere in the range of 30% to 40%. At the same time, power efficiency and thermal stability improve significantly because the system does not need to push signals as far or as hard. This matters a lot for sustained performance, especially in gaming, AI tasks, and multitasking workloads where chips are under constant load.

Another significant improvement is possible because the memory and logic die are no longer sandwiched together. A single heat spreader can sit across both, allowing heat to move more evenly and reducing hotspots. Heat no longer gets trapped in the processor instead, it is carried away from the SoC even faster by the HPB and vapor chamber.

Furthermore, SAMSUNG LSI is pushing in this direction to prepare for future memory standards. The upcoming LPDDR6 generation is expected to deliver much higher data speeds, which current designs may struggle to fully utilize.

By rethinking how memory is physically connected to the chip, Samsung is trying to build a system that can handle those speeds without becoming bottlenecked.

The next generation of Exynos will not just be faster than its predecessor, but smarter, more efficient, cooler, and more stable than ever before.